Seed-cotton cleaner.



H. THOMPSON. SEED COTTON CLEANER. APPLICATION FILED 1320.27, 1910.

Patented Apr. 23, 1912.

HENRY THOMPSON, 0F VALERA, TEXAS.

SEED-COTTON CLEANER.

Speceation of Letters Patent.

Application led December 27, 1910. Serial No. 599,622.

ers and lmore particularly to devices for cleaning cotton which is being carried by pneumatic conveyers, and the object is to provide a simple and inexpensive and very e'licient device for thoroughly cleaning the cotton in transit from the wagon to the cotton gin feeder. Means are provided for separating rocks, gravel, nails, knives, small knotty or dried or green bolls, dirt, trash, and any foreign matter which may be in the cotton. Removing such matter from the cotton will lessen the danger of ire and greatly improves the sample of cotton.

One of the advantages of the improvement is that it occupies a small space and may be located at any convenient point between the supply source of cotton and the gin feeder, as it can be mounted by cutting away a section of the conveyer pipe. There are no moving parts which can be displaced in operation, consequently the device needs no attention during operation.

Other objects and advantages will be fully explained in the following description and the invention will be more particularly pointed out in the claims.

Reference is had to the accompanying drawings which form a part of this application and specification.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a pneumatic conveyer with the improved cleaner attached thereto, the cleaner attachments being partly broken to illustrate the construction. Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the interior cylindrical drum and the telescoping adjusting member. Fig. 3 illustrates a variation in the cleaner attachments. Fig. 4 is a front elevation (on a smaller scale) of the dash-board shown in Fig. 3.

Similar characters of reference are used to indicate the same parts throughout the several views.

The drawings show a portion of a pneumatic conveyer pipe A which leads from a wagon to a cotton gin feeder. The pipe A is intercepted, a portion of the pneumatic conveyer being out away, and a connectlon a receives the pipe A. The connection a is attached to a cylindrical drum C by a joint H which must be air-tight. On the opposite side of the drum C a pipe section b is inserted in the drum and the pipe section enters the conveyer A. The section b is inserted in the drum and an airtight joint D is formed about the section Z). An interior cylindrical drum B is attached to the lupper end of the drum C and forms a T- pipe connection with the section b. The lower end of the drum B is open to receive the cotton after it is separated from the foreign matter. The section a is thus the inlet for receiving the cotton into the cleaner and the section Z) is the discharge. The drum C has a funnel shaped bottom K with a discharge nozzle E which is normally closed by a trap door F. The door F is carried by a pivoted bar J which is mounted in a fulcrum bearing g and an adjustable weight Gr is carried on the other end of the 'bar J by which the door F can be held against the nozzle E with more or less force. The doorV F will be opened automatically whenever suficient trash and heavy matter accumulates on the door to force the same downwardly against the pressure of the weight G. As soon as the trash is discharged the door will be closed automatically by the weight G. One advantage in mounting the door F as shown is that the rocks and other trash will slide 0H of the door and not be drawn up in the discharge pipe. The door will be slanting and the trash will rest on the door until discharged, whereas if the door was horizontally moved, as many doors are, the draft would have a direct pull on the rock and other trash and would lift the same into the discharge pipe. The curved surface of the drum B will spread the cotton suiciently to permit a separation of all trash and heavy material so that the heavy material and dirt and trash will fall down on the funnel-shaped bottom K and nd the way to the nozzle while the'cot-ton, which is thrown down on the funnel-shaped bottom with the other material, being lighter than the trash and foreign matter, will be drawn up through the drum B and discharged into the conveyer pipe A and pass on to the cotton gin feeder.

In order to vary the length of the interior drum, a telescopic member F is mounted within the drum B and provision Patented Apr. 23, 19112.

is made for holding the member P at different adjustments in the drum B. The member P is cut away opposite the pipe section ZJ, as shown in Fig. 2, and a thumb bolt IL is used to clamp the member P to the drum B at whatever height the member P is to be adjusted. The member has slots 0 so that the member can be moved vertically and held at the different adjustments. A lug z' projects into the slot 0 on the opposite side from the bolt 71.. An opening R is formed in the top of the drum B and closed by a cap S. The object of this opening is to provide a way of reaching the member P andthe adjusting bolt 7L. Thus the member P can be set at lower points than shown in the drawings.

The variation shown in Fig. 8 includes a substitute for the interior drum B and may serve for some purposes. A vertically adjustable dash-board V is mounted in the drum C and slides loosely therein between angle irons m which are attached to the interior of the drum C. Instead of the pipe b, only a sect-ion a is necessary. The cotton and other matter would strike the board V and be separated, the trash and heavy matter falling on t-he bottom K and the cotton passing downwardly and then upwardly to be discharged through the section a. The board V is provided with a plurality of holes n for different vertical Vadjustments.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is,-

1. A seed cotton cleaner comprising a pneumatic conveyer pipe, a vertically disposed drum intercepting said pipe and provided with a funnel-shaped bottom and a nozzle in said bottom, said pipe projecting within said drum at the discharge side of the drum and a T-joint connected to the discharge pipe within the drum and connected to the top of the drum and serving to spread the cotton and other material and to throw the same down on said funnel-shaped bottom, and a weighted trap door closing said nozzle.

2. A seed cotton cleaner comprising a vertically disposed cylindrical drum, a pneumatic conveyer pipe connected to said drum and forming the inlet to said drum, said drum having a funnel-shaped bottom and a nozzle in said bottom, a weighted trap door closing said nozzle, a cylindrical drum vertically disposed within said first named drum and attached to the top thereof and being open atA the lower end, and a pneumatic conveyer pipe projecting within said first named drum and connectedto said last named drum and forming the discharge from said drums and forming a continuation of said first named conveyer pipe.

3. A seed cotton cleaner comprising a vertically disposed exterior cylindrical drum having a funnel-shaped bottom and a nozzle in said bottom, a vertically disposed cylindrical drum within said exterior drum and attached to the upper end thereof and having its lower end open, a pneumatic conveyer pipe intercepted and having the approaching portion connected to said exterior drum and the leaving portion projected within said exterior drum and connected to said interior drum and forming the discharge from said drums, a trap door closing said nozzle, a pivoted bar carrying said door on one end, and an adjustable weight carried on the other end of said bar.

4. A seed cotton cleaner comprising a vertically disposed exterior cylindrical drum having a bottom and discharge nozzle therein for trash and other matter, a door for said nozzle, a vertically disposed interior cylindrical drum attached to the upper end of said exterior drum, a pneumatic conveyer vpipe intercepted and the approaching section connected to and communicating vwith said exterior drum and the discharging end projected within said exterior drum and connected to and communicating with said interior drum, a telescopic member within said interior drum for varying the length of said interior drum, and means for holding said telescopic member at different vertical adjustments.

In testimony whereof, I set my hand in the presence of two witnesses, this 19th day of December, 1910.

HENRY THOMPSON.

Vitnesses:

L. T. KNIGHT, A. L. JACKSON.

Copiesiof this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washin gton, D. G. l 

